Dec 11th

Normal 0 false false false st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} We left Hawkesbury around 11ish this morning.  We were breaking ice again � it was quite chilly!  Still, we were well wrapped up and there was a watery sun to warm our faces.  We wandered along the canal at a gentle pace because Clive doesn�t like to go too fast in the ice, sometimes the rudder jams up against an ice floe and it rams the tiller over and whacks him in the stomach!  The M6 was our travelling companion for quite a way, we could hear its constant roar, even above the engine noise!    We saw these lovely geese as we were passing through a village called Ansty, it was quite peaceful here as we had veered away from the motorway.  A little while later we were joined by the railway line and the Virgin trains hurtling past at a tilt, however they are quite quiet really, unlike the goods trains which make much more noise!    We were cruising along through the countryside and there were fantastic views stretching for miles into the distance � I was just taking a photograph of said view when I noticed something odd about the field in the foreground � a strange pattern, rather like a crop circle, but it is a ploughed field! You wouldn�t think that a crop circle would leave its imprint after the crop was gone would you � still, see for yourself!  Any ideas as to what it might be?   Not long after we had passed this strange sight we began to hear the roar of the motorway again and sure enough it crossed right over the canal on the most enormous bridge!  My goodness me it is so much more pleasant travelling at our speed than 70 odd mph up there!   We were beginning to think that it would be a good idea to moor up early today as we are rapidly approaching Rugby and didn�t fancy mooring up in the middle of suburbia!  We knew we couldn�t make it right through the town today so decided to moor up this side and save it for tomorrow.  We got a bit of a surprise as we were pootling along � at first Clive thought it was a bend in the canal but I realised it was a boat across the canal, it had obviously broken loose from its moorings! We gave a few blasts on the horn to alert the crew but nobody appeared so it was up to us to sort it out!  Clive pulled into the bank and I jumped off with my trusty pike (the one donated by my brother Nick) and managed to haul the boat back into the bank using the rings for the ropes holding the covers on.  I eventually got the bows back in and managed to grab the rope which had a mooring pin attached � looking at the bank I could see a big muddy hole that the pin had come loose from.  The bank was really soft and I hammered the pin back in using the pike pole.  I doubt it will hold it for long, but at least it kept the boat into the bank so that we could pass safely.  Well that was a bit of excitement to liven up our day!   We finally found a reasonable mooring opposite a farm, the only drawback being that we are almost underneath a railway bridge with trains thundering past every few minutes!  Never mind, there aren�t many trains at night so I am sure we won�t be disturbed.   So its off to Rugby tomorrow!